Emerald Eyed Goddess
by Koriina
Summary: Hitomi, Dilandau and the Dragon Slayers are all draconians but Van isn't. See what happens when Hitomi is sent to a world that she finds oddly familiar and forms feelings for someone she would never have expected. Please Read and Review! Koriina, - m
1. Default Chapter

**Konnichiwa ano hito! (Hello everyone!) First I would like to tell everyone who doesn't know already that all my stories were deleted. I am very upset that my story Emerald Eyed Goddess was kicked off of this site, ****but it is good in a way seeing as though I am able to re-do the chapters better. It may take a while but I plan on continuing and finishing this story. Thank you for all who stayed with me, and I want to say that you should read the chapters because they are different. I decided that if I am re-writing it why not change a couple things!**

**I do not own the song Ocean, by Josh Groban nor Escaflowne.**

**Well like I said before, thank you all and for all my precious reviewers I ask of you to review again because it inspires me to write more. Thank you and lets start at the first chapter!**

****

Chapter 1: Demon

As the oxen creatures continued with their steady pace, Hitomi glanced outside of the hay cart she was riding in. Looking at the heavily treed in area she sighed, 'This can't be happening. I mean first I help some snobby kid out, he denies I saved his sorry butt, and then he takes me to another planet? I must be dreaming.' Letting her eyes catch the Earth above her once again, Hitomi frowned, 'Well that's proved me wrong now about five times. Gotta get over the denial girl, you aren't in Japan anymore. Live with it,' Hitomi thought, giving herself a scolding.

Leaning back into the hay so she was more comfortable the girl couldn't help but notice the strange looks she was getting from the other creatures accompanying her. 'What are they staring at?' She thought crossly, 'They are the ones that look like a cross between wolf and human.' Frowning as the staring did not stop; Hitomi wondered what exactly was so strange about herself. It didn't seem as though they were interested in her clothing, she was wearing a pair of dark blue, baggy boy's jeans and a Black Atticus Sweat Shirt. She had her shorts and t-shirt on underneath, but didn't have time to change for Amano's race because the dragon appeared before she could start. No their eyes definitely weren't on her clothes; they were locked with her own eyes. 'Is there something on my face?' she asked herself mock-jokingly.

The leader of the cart, Rhum, as the black haired kid had called him earlier, seemed to possess a little more dignity and instead of staring at the strange girl, decided to ignore her completely. Looking closely at the black eyed man whom had entered the cart with Hitomi, Rhum asked, "Were you successful in the Right of Dragon Slaying Lord Van?"

"Yes," the kid answered plainly. Van was leisurely leaning back in the hay on the opposite corner of Hitomi. It looked as though he was trying to ignore her, and had no problem with it.

Finally glancing in the girl's direction, Rhum asked the question that was bugging him since they had began their journey back to Fanelia. "If I may ask Lord Van, who is that girl and what was she doing with you?" Quickly adverting his eyes back to his lord, Rhum coughed nervously when the girl turned her gaze on him.

"Oh, her?" Van answered, acting as though he had just noticed her, "I don't know who she is, but she seems to have followed me home, hmm?" he said cockily.

Indignation filled her being immediately, and it took all of Hitomi's self control to not knock out the twirp beside her. 'That no good, arrogant pig!' she mentally yelled at him.

Annoyed at the comment he made, and the stares still glued to her, Hitomi growled and grabbed her bag that lay by her feet. 'Stupid, no good, bloody bastards...' she ranted on, as she pulled out a long black cloak. She had actually received it as a Halloween costume from her best friend earlier that day. Yukari seemed to possess the skill of sewing, when unfortunately Hitomi did not. It didn't really matter to her that she was going to put on a Halloween outfit though, 'these people are wearing the most bizarre things I've ever seen, so why can't I?' Hitomi thought to herself as she pulled the cloak over her head as swiftly as possible and then draped it over the rest of her body.

After that, the 'wolf people' (as Hitomi so liked to call them) just glanced at her once in a while with a mild indifference. It seemed that if they couldn't see what was bothering them, then it was no problem.

Grumbling quietly to herself, Hitomi moved in her seat trying to get more comfortable. Looking once again out at the dark trees slowly going by her, her eyes began to drop in sleep.

_Hitomi looked around but could only see darkness. "Oh, not this dream again," she pleaded as she saw a younger version of herself with tears streaming down her face, running deeper into a dark abyss. _

"_Please not again," Hitomi begged, watching the scene unfold. Closing her eyes she tried to shut out all the images and noises, but alas that didn't work, just as it hadn't all the other times. "Please," Hitomi begged again, this time on the verge of tears as a bright blue light erupted around her dream self._

_Then a soft feminine voice filled her ears:_

'_Remo, tremo, sento__  
Profondi, oscuri abissi__  
E' per l'amore che ti do__  
E' per l'amore che non sai__  
Che mi fai naufragare__  
E' per l'amore che non ho__  
E' per l'amore che vorrei__  
E' per questo dolore__  
E' questo amore che ho per te__  
Che mi fa superare queste vere tempeste__  
Onde sull'oceano__  
Onde sull'oceano.'_

_This song always seemed to calm her and she knew the words by heart, but it was always sung so sorrowfully._

With a silent gasp Hitomi woke up and was met by four curious glances. It seemed that she had jumped up and was now standing in the middle of the cart, her black cloak still covering her body, but the sun light was now shining on her.

"What?" she whispered to herself, as _Lord_ Van turned his head away, a scowl playing across his face. Sitting down she let the memories resurface in her mind's eye. 'I must have fallen asleep last night; that would explain the sun. Okay, so I am on another planet now. Right...? Crap.' She thought, and then looked at her surroundings. The thick forest trees seemed to have thinned out and in the distance she could tell that they were approaching a valley.

Seeing the look of triumph on Rhum's face she heard him exclaim, "Welcome back to the city of Fanelia, Lord Van." Inching up a little bit so she could have a better look, Hitomi gasped softly. 'It's beautiful,' she thought, as she saw hundreds of houses lined up closely to one another, a castle in intricate design protecting the city at the top of Fanelia. I it was truly amazing, "Whoa," Hitomi finally voiced her opinion at the view bellow the valley.

Sneering at her again, the man sitting beside her made an insulting noise and then ordered Rhum to hurry up.

"Yes Lord Van, we should be there shortly," was his reply as the whips went down on the ox creatures, directing them to the left.

Inwardly Hitomi felt sorry for the poor creatures, 'Why do they have to use a whip like that?' she asked herself as once again it was taken down upon the helpless animals.

Closing her eyes, Hitomi realized that it may be harder to fit in here than she thought.

As they neared the city, Hitomi noticed that the people had begun to crowd the area, exclaiming joyous shouts.

"Lord Van has returned!" A certain dirty faced girl by the age of 5 or 6 exclaimed. She wore a dirty, torn dress that reached her ankles, and a look of happiness adorned her face as she ran off into the crowd.

"Quick, inform General Balgus," a passing soldier ordered as two ran off into the direction of the castle.

With confusion Hitomi just ignored the curious glances that she was given and tilted her head down further to insure her face was hidden. 'It must have been something wrong with my face, maybe my hair?' she thought to herself as the wolf men on the cart smiled confidently at the waving passer biers.

Finally they reached the castle, and Lord Van jumped out of the ten foot cart with immense swiftness. Hitomi sneered, "Showoff," she whispered so that only Rhum could hear her.

Turning his head in her direction, the leader of the cart gave her a frown and then he too jumped down off the cart, although this time he took the low end.

Following in his footstep, Hitomi grabbed her bag, and carefully jumped off the cart so as to make sure she was still hidden.

Suddenly out of no where a scream was heard, "LORD VAN, YOU'RE BACK!" A pink and orange blur jumped the black haired man as a girl with a definite feline tail started showering him in licks. "I was so worried about you Lord Van!" her shrill voice said excitedly.

'A cat?' Hitomi screamed inside her head. The cat girl was wearing an orange summer dress up to her knees and black strips on orange fur showed on her legs. Her pink hair was the main thing that Hitomi noticed, for her ears stuck out plainly against the florescent color. 'First there are wolf men and now there are cat people? This is crazy, what else is there on this planet?' she thought flabbergasted.

She was distracted though when the crowd surrounding her split to reveal the biggest man she had ever seen. "Kami, what the hell is that thing, a cross between a giant and person?" she whispered with her jaw slack.

The cat girl that was holding onto the maroon eyed man let go, and now stepped back to meet with the crowd of people. All of a sudden there was a silent hush and the black haired boy stated, "I Van Fanel, Prince of Fanelia, have completed the task of Dragon Slaying."

'He's a prince?' Hitomi thought dazed, 'That guy is a prince?'

From behind the giant of a man, three shriveled, old men stepped out and walked towards Lord Van. "Do you have the drag energist?" The most wrinkled man asked.

With a nod, the prince took a large, red jewel from his pocket and presented it to his advisors.

Snatching it away greedily from their prince, all three men circled the gem and started chattering like excited teenage girls. After about a minute the men straightened out their clothing and stood in a line. "I Tory Figuragi have accepted that this is a true energist."

A howl of excitement went through the crowd of people, as shouts and hoots of joy came in towards the prince.

'He can't be a prince,' Hitomi thought, 'they are supposed to be handsome, kind and charming. I suppose he is kind of handsome, but in a scrawny kind of way, but not at all nice or charming.' She thought, as she the giant of a man made a motion for her to follow him. The three advisors, Prince Van, herself and the giant man were all headed towards the palace gates.

'Great, what is in store for me now?' Hitomi thought with another sigh, as she entered the huge double doors opening into a sort of entrance room. It was adorned with a single red carpet about the width of a single car lane that flowed in the middle of the floor and followed the split staircase. (If you don't know what a split staircase is, it is when there are two stairs on each side of the room that curve to lead of to the same destination.) There were pictures of royalty hanging along each of the walls with draperies and other decorations as well. Candles lit the dim stone hallways and windows seemed to appeared every ten feet or so.

"Follow me please," the giant said to the cloaked figure. 'If this person was riding with Lord Van then something must have happened, or he knows him.' Balgus thought to himself. They walked down one of the many hallways and stopped in front of a single door with dragons engraved deeply into the wooden door, showing a pictograph two dragon, and a hatchling. "Please wait out here, you will be called in soon."

Hitomi did as she was told and watched as the five men walked into the room. 'Humph, must be talking about princely duties,' she thought dryly. Glancing around bored, she noticed servants passing by carrying trays of food, clothes or cleaning supplies. Most of these servants seemed to be of animal origin.

Remembering clearly that most of the townspeople were human Hitomi came to a conclusion, 'They must be prejudice about hybrids here or something. Just like some people at home were and still are against black people today. Stupid.' She thought as a young cat boy that looked the age of herself walked by with whipping scars on his back. Hissing loudly Hitomi found herself extremely mad at the prince for allowing this to happen. During her thinking process Hitomi had heard loud voices emitting from the room behind of her and was beginning to wonder what exactly they were discussing.

Hearing a creak, Hitomi turned her head around just far enough to see that the door to the room the men had entered was open a slit. A loud voice ordered her in.

Listening obediently, she followed the voice in and faced the Prince whom was sitting in his throne with his three advisors and general beside him.

"This is General Balgus Tsuasha," Lord Van motioned towards the giant man, with a salt and pepper mustache as well as hair which reached his shoulders. Balgus also had a large cross scar running across his right eye and looked to be 9 feet tall. Next were the men lined up on the prince's right, "and these three are my advisors, Tory Figuragi," a brown eyed, white haired man, "Lee Stragu," a short man with white hair and grey eyes that looked more like a toad than anything, "and Jeffery Blue," the youngest of the three with blue eyes and still brown hair. Each man nodded their head when their announcement was given but each gave the girl a disapproving look. "I have already explained the situation about you to them, and we have decided to let you stay in my castle." At this, it looked as though Tory was about to say something, but one look from the Prince and he shut his mouth.

"There are of course some rules that you must follow before I allow this, number one you must prove yourself to my disbelieving advisors that you are from the Mystic Moon. Second do not wonder other than where I tell you to in this palace, and last but most important, after this, no one is to ever see your face again." Lord Van smiled amusingly as he saw the cloaked girl tense up after each order. "If you do not oblige to these rules then I have the right to punish you severely."

Shaking with fury, Hitomi was about to yell at the so-called prince when her mind caught control of her actions. 'Do I really want to be punished? I don't even know what he would do to me. Better keep myself in check.' She thought as she looked at each man. The three men on the prince's right all seemed to be disgusted by the sight of her, whilst the general sitting on Van's left seemed curious.

Sighing, Hitomi did as she was told and revealed her face to the men. Gasps were heard, such as she had expected from experience of the wolf men on the cart.

Two green emeralds stared at all of the men in the room, while her full lips fell into a frown. Hitomi's hair reached to her backside and was placed in a braid at the moment, but the most interesting thing about it was that she had seven green strips in her hair. Three to each side and then one strip down the back, it looked as though she went a hair salon to get it done, but strangely enough it was natural.

"She is a demon Lord Van, she can not stay in the castle, that thing will curse us all!" The one acknowledged as Tory pleaded to his lord.

"Yes, just look at those eyes. Green! No one has green eyes on Gaea, she must be a demon." The other advisor Lee added, aiding his friend in the argument.

"She saved our Lord's life, the least we can do for her is provide shelter." Balgus finally spoke up, annoyed at the old coots that were supposed to be responsible for Fanelia.

"How can you say that, she is from the MYSTIC MOON!" Tory yelled this time, earning a warning growl from the prince.

"What is your name Milady?" The general politely asked.

'Well at least one of them is polite,' Hitomi thought, as Balgus gained her respect.

But before Hitomi could answer the same advisor as before interrupted him again. "It doesn't matter what her name is, she can't stay here."

With that the prince decided to end the argument. "I have already made my decision and it will not change, this... girl can stay here as long as she abides by the rules." With a shake of his head, the prince dismissed her.

Scowling at the bratty prince Hitomi uttered two words before tearing her cloak back on and following a servant out. "Hitomi Kanzaki."

**Well that is the end of the first re-written chapter and I hope you loved it. I like this one much more than I did the last chapter one! I expect to update at least once every two weeks, much faster than last time, seeing as though I have my plot almost all written out for me.**

**For all of those interested in what the song's meaning is it is this:**

(_Translation: **I row, I shake, I feel  
Deep dark abyss  
It's for the love I give you  
and for the love you don't know  
that makes me wreck  
It's for the love I don't have  
and for the love I'd want  
It's for this pain  
It's for this love I have for you  
That makes me get over those real storms  
Waves on the Ocean  
Waves on the Ocean)**_

**The song is called Oceano, and is sung by Josh Groban. If you **

**are interested in listening to it I advice you because he has an **

**exquisite voice.**

**I am only asking one thing from everyone of you, to please review even if you don't like it. I want to hear what I should work on and then maybe compliments. LOL! Thank you for sticking with me through this!**

**Koriina, - meow!**


	2. Glimpse

**Konbanwa minna san! (Everybody, good evening!) Sorry about the wait, blocked me from my account for a while. Thank you all for patiently waiting for my next update and thankfully it was only a week/week and a half wait! I would first like to thank all of my reviewers and I hope that you review again this chapter! Onegai? Replies to the reviews will be at the end of my chapter. Arigatou!**

_Scowling at the bratty prince, Hitomi uttered two words before tearing her cloak back on and following a servant out, "Hitomi Kanzaki."_

Chapter 2: Glimpse

It seemed that her earlier musing were right, this servant was just like all the rest: some type of hybrid. 'Kind of looks like a fox... thing,' Hitomi thought to herself as she gazed at two red, puffy tails emitting from the man's behind, and a pair of ears poking out of his brown hair. 'At least this one doesn't appear to have whipping scars.'

After walking for almost five minutes, the servant stopped abruptly in front of a wooden door and then proceeded in bowing deeply to Hitomi. His eyes were held closely to the floor and refused to even glance at the bottom of the girl's cloak. "Thank you for showing me the way," Hitomi said, earning a gasp of surprise from the man.

Grasping the door handle, she unlatched the door and raised her head so that she could see the sight that lay before her. There, right in front of her eyes was one of the most gorgeous and inviting beds she had ever seen. Walking further into the room Hitomi took in the king sized bed, with a white laced canopy and matching sheets, while spotting dragons of all shapes and sizes engraved upon the wooden border. The rest of the room was quite mundane in comparison, the only piece of furniture other than the bed being a vanity table with mirror, placed in the back right corner.

A quiet, "You're welcome," and then a click from the door was heard as the fox servant left Hitomi on her own.

'Whoa, I didn't even hear him... Kind of creepy, 'Hitomi thought, as her focus returned to the room once again. Deciding she might as well feel at home in the temporary placement, Hitomi pulled off her cloak and placed it, along with her bag, under the bed. Looking at the base of the bed, and seeing the high footboard, Hitomi yearned to do what she had seen so many times in the movies. 'Well why not? Who would ever catch me?'

Climbing onto the end base of the bed, Hitomi spread her arms out, let a smile spread across her smooth face and then fell backwards to land upon the soft comforter. With a quiet thud her body sunk into the cushions, "Ahh..." she sighed in contempt, snuggling into the blanket. " So soft and warm..." Hitomi whispered, "Unlike that stupid cart."

Listening to the sounds around her, the green-eyed girl heard footsteps just outside her door. 'Must be more servants,' she thought to herself. But from coming from another planet and feeling a little nervous, Hitomi gave good reason to lean down to her bag in search of a certain something. Quickly finding what she had been looking for, the girl lay back down on the bed and raised a beautifully crafted sword above her head.

Tracing her finger down the dragon etched into the sheath, Hitomi followed it to the end of its tip. The sheath, as well as the beginning of the blade, was wonderfully decorated with engravings of extravagant dragons -as well as those emitting fire- and a frenzy of feathers. The wood of the sheath looked to have some sort of black lacquer painted over it, but the pictograph was still easily seen to the naked eye. It was strange to Hitomi, she wondered just who exactly acquired the skill to do this art in such detail.

She had received the sword, as well as her red pendant, on her eighth birthday as a present from her adopted parents. That was the day that her mother and father had decided to tell of the incident in how they had come to know her.

They had first begun by asking her if she wanted to know the truth about her past:

"_Now Hitomi, I know these gifts are not what you were expecting but, they are especially linked to you. This is going to be hard and really difficult but, we have decided that you the right age and if you are ready to know the truth then you will receive it," an aging brown haired woman said softly._

"_If you don't want to find out about your past always remember, when ever you want any answers we are here for you," the man sitting beside her added._

_Hitomi looked up into the faces of the couple she had called mother and father for the past five years. A blue eyed father and brown eyed mother. The difference between them and herself was easily told by a stranger. And yet, even though she loved them very much, Hitomi just couldn't handle not knowing the truth and had been quite curious about her past since she had reached the age of six, "No, I want to know."_

_Sharing a glance between the two of them, Hitomi's 'mother' and 'father' smiled reassuringly to their adopted daughter. "It started five years ago when your father and I went walking in the park. We were discussing how long it would take for an adoption approval to go through the system when we saw something flicker in the corner of our eyes. We thought it to be lightening or some sort of blue light, so we decided to check it out." At that the woman looked down towards the floor and her husband glanced at her concerned. Squeezing her hand lovingly he looked back at his daughter._

"_When we arrived at the scene we could see something, someone, in the dark. So out of concern I called out to the figure, but all I got in return was the sound of running footsteps in the opposite direction. I remember yelling at the person to stop, that's when I saw who it was in the light from a lamp post." Smiling at Hitomi the blond man continued to listen to his wife tell the story. "It was a girl wearing the strangest clothing, and carrying the most bizarre object I could ever think of: a sword."_

_Upon hearing the sword being mention, the young Hitomi looked towards the object in her lap, "This, very sword?" she asked quietly._

"_Yes," her father answered looking worriedly at the girl. "If you don't want to go any further then -"_

"_No! I – I mean, I want to know, I am alright," Hitomi said smiling, her gaze still heavily set on the katana._

"_Alright then," looking at their daughter concerned, Hitomi's mother continued, "Well deciding that you were alone, your father and I chased after you. We couldn't leave a little girl all on her own during the night now could we? So we followed the path you took for about five minutes until we heard someone breathing hard. It seemed that you had fallen pretty hard and lay on the ground in a heap."_

_Signaling to her husband to continue, the woman looked towards her daughter in thought, "As we followed you together, I remember your mother grasping me wrist; she had caught sight of you. So I walked up to you cautiously. I didn't want to scare you, so I asked if you were alright and knelt down to your level. That was the first time you laid eyes on me; you were cold, hurt and alone. You started speaking in some foreign language that neither I nor your mother understood. We were concerned for you so we somehow persuaded you to accompany us to the police station. Once we were there, the police officers asked us some questions and then took you away to a child worker. We didn't see you for a couple days but, we had grown attached to you in the short period of time so we continued to talk to the social workers about your case. They, after a month or so, gave us permission to let you reside with us until they decided it fit." Taking a breath the man seemed lost in memory but still continued to look towards the young Hitomi whom was staring at the sword in her lap._

_Hitomi's mom glanced up again and then finished the story, "All that we found out about you in the end was that you had that sword with you, a tattoo of a dragon on your right upper fore arm, as well as the pendant around your neck. No one could figure out the language you were speaking, the strange clothes or where you were from. It seemed that you appeared out of thin air." Pausing for a couple seconds, the brown haired woman let the girl take in everything she had just been told. "I'm sorry, it isn't much but, it is all we know."_

From that point on Hitomi had disciplined herself in the art of fighting. If she had a sword, why not learn to use it? Tai Kwan Do, Karate, Judo, she couldn't even remember all the courses she had taken but she had trained hard everyday for at least an hour or two. At the age of sixteen almost every opponent she faced was taken down because of the repetition in her blocks and attacks, but she became unbeatable at the age of seventeen. It seemed that most people relied on guns and other forms of defense so not many kept to sword fighting on a continuous basis.

It had been ten years since the time she found out the small information about her past but the pendant, as well as her sword, were still in her possession. The tattoo adorning her arm, as well as everything else she learned that day, was still a mystery to her; one that she wanted resolved dearly.

Sighing, Hitomi turned over, careful not to get tangled with her 3 foot braid and muffled a sigh in her pillow. 'Why can't I be normal? I don't really care if I am adopted; I just wish I knew some answers. Everything is so weird here, and yet somehow... it is so familiar.' Placing the sword under her pillow as an act of protection for herself, Hitomi decided to go for a quick nap.

Fingering her red pendant as a habit of nervousness Hitomi listened to the noises that surrounded her and smiled slightly to herself. "Maybe I'll get the answers that I have been waiting for all these years..." she quietly whispered to herself before drifting off into a deep sleep.

"_Wait! Don't leave me oniisan" a little Hitomi screamed into the darkness. "Big brother, matte!" There were screams heard behind her, ones which frightened the tiny child, "Oniisan!"_

"_Get back here you demon!" "Stinking demon, you deserve to die, just like all the rest of your kind!" Horrible things were being yelled at the small child as she ran deeper and deeper into what turned out to be a forest. The trees were everywhere which was good in this case for it seemed that because of them the hunters became lost and were following the wrong track._

_Huffing heavily the young Hitomi sunk into a tree trunk and let the tears drench her dress, "Mama, Papa, big brother? Where are you?" she cried in a hopeless stir._

_Suddenly from out of the trees a voice was heard, "Tomi, my baby? Is that you?" Immediately the girl jumped up from her spot and raced over to where the sound was heard. "Mama!"_

_A woman with an open wound in the side of her abdomen wearing a beautiful ivory dress was slouching on a tree. "Hitomi, I'm sorry, there is nothing else for you here." After inhaling a large breath of air the lady continued, "Take good care of this, and always wear the heart," a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes struggled to say, as she handed the small girl a sword and hung a necklace around her neck. "Keep them safe my little Tomi."_

"_But Mama..." the girl whispered, but stopped when the woman put a shaky finger to her lips._

"_It is alright my daughter." Hearing a shout not far away the woman looked fearful and then began to hurry in her wobbly speech. "You must go now Tomi, but you must remember. Never forget us Hitomi, always remember..."_

_Slowly a melody began from the woman in her last breaths as a sorrowful chant filled the air:_

"_Remo, tremo, sento_

_Profondi, oscuri abissi_

_E' per l'amore che ti do_

_E' per l'amore che non sai_

_Che mi fai naufragare_

_E' per l'amore che non ho_

_E' per l'amore che vorrei_

_E' per questo dolore_

_E' questo amore che ho per te_

_Che mi fa superare queste vere tempeste_

_Onde sull'oceano_

_Onde sull'oceano."_

_A blue light erupted from underneath the young girl and she screamed as it began to envelop her into the brightness. "Never forget us Hitomi, always remember..."_

"Remember? Remember what?" Hitomi questioned herself as she groggily woke up. Sighing she realized it was the same dream yet again, but suddenly she heard a sound from above her window. Accurately recalling the prince's warning, Hitomi grabbed her sword and struggled to get her cloak on. Only when she turned around did she find the source of the noise as she was met with a pair of purplish-blue eyes.

**Thank you so much everyone for reading and I hope that you review this chapter as well, here are the responses to my reviewers last time! Ja ne!**

**Sorcerer of Darkness: Thank you very much for the compliment and as you can see Hitomi still does possess the skills of a swordsman so all is well! I hope you enjoy this chapter more than the last chapter 2! **

**Magicman/Smokegirl: I love your comments! They are so cute, aw! Smokegirl you are absolutely evil, I love it!**

**Lady Snow Blood: Thank you so much for the review, I love hearing from yah!**

**Kagome: An Inuyasha fan eh? I love Inuyasha as well as Escaflowne, any who! Thank you very much for the review!**

**Kya77: Oh! I love to hear that! I was trying to make the first chapters more interesting than before and not quite as crappy as the first time around. So I am here and enjoying re-writing them all out. Even though it takes a lot of work it isn't as hard as the first time around because I have somewhat of a plot written out already! Thank you so much for your review!**

**Sush: You have been following my story? You haven't reviewed until now... sigh OH WELL! Thank you so much for reviewing and I love to hear the compliments, as well as the criticism.**

**Eio: I am really sorry about my story being taken off, but I promise you, I will try and put more wings into the beginning of the story. Since my chapters are longer in the beginning than they were the last time I bet you will get to see wings soon! Thank you for reviewing!**

**Kimpatsu no Hoseki: Hey just wondering, what does your name mean? Sounds pretty cool to me, even if I take Japanese I don't know what Kimpatsu nor Hoseki means... he he he. Thanks for the review!**

**Feathers of Snow: Honeypot: Thank you so much for the review and thank you for supporting me when my story was deleted. Yes I am really glad I found another copy, I supposed that is what sisters are for eh? Even if I am re-writing it, it is a lot easier to write something that has a plot already determined. If yah know what I mean, jelly bean? LOL :P!**

**Anthius: Thank you for reviewing the chapter, and yes! You must review again because they are different! I am re-writing them all so they should be better and I am changing some things as well. Thanx for the review!**

**Claire: I do not know exactly why my stories were deleted because all I had was some swearing in the first chapters. Maybe someone took enough offence and went to the story staff about it or something. But anyways I hope that you enjoy reading this again even if you can't remember, that should be the fun part!**

**VoilesDragonGurl: Thank you so much for your support and sympathy! I just want to get that stupid head, and just, umph, umph, umph to it! Punches hand with fist threateningly (if you have seen Shark Tale then you know what I mean with the whole Ange thing.) I think I am fine with the chapters thing because I am actually quite enjoying re-writing my chapters because I realized that the beginning ones were CRAP! But that is fine, thank you so much for the compliment. :P! sniff, single tear falls Thank you so much for your compliment it really made me beam proudly! (In actuality literally!) Thank you so much and I hope to hear from you in this chapter review section! THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**Nina: Stupid girl, when are you going to decide to stick to one name? STOP CHANGING IT ALL THE TIME!**

**Thank you so much everyone for reading my chapter and now there is only one more thing to do: REVIEW! Ps, sorry blocked me from my account for a while.**

**Koriina, - meow!**


	3. Hanging Sideways

**Thank you so much for all my reviews and I want to apologize for taking so long to update. Well first is Chapter 3 and then at the bottom are all for my Reviewers!**

Chapter 3: Hanging Sideways

"Remember? Remember what?" Hitomi questioned herself as she groggily woke up. Sighing she realized it was the same dream that she had had many times before. But suddenly a sound that distinctly sounded like footsteps were heard on top of the roof and outside her window. Accurately recalling the prince's warning, Hitomi grabbed her sword and struggled to get her cloak on. Only when she turned around did she find the source of the noise as she was met with a pair of purplish-blue eyes.

Almost letting out a squeal of surprise Hitomi barely managed to keep her mouth shut as she stared at the person in front of her. 'It is the same girl as before, the one I saw with prince Van, when he first returned. Wonder what she wants?' A swish of air adverted Hitomi's gaze to the girl's tail; it was puffed out a little bit, signifying that that either the cat girl was nervous or annoyed. Folding her arms against her chest while still clinging to her sword, Hitomi grunted, hoping for a response from the girl. She didn't want to give away her gender just yet, seeing as though being a man in this country seemed to have its advantages.

"What are you doing in Lord Van's castle?" the cat person rudely asked.

Smirking at how upfront the girl was, Hitomi closed her eyes and inwardly thought, 'Hmm, she has spunk, unlike most of the women on this planet.' Smiling secretly under her hood, Hitomi continued to gaze at her intruder and watched her tail swing from side to side in an impatient manner. 'I bet she doesn't let anyone walk over her; she could be fun to play with.'

"Hello? What are you doing here?" After pausing for a while the cat girl continued, "Excuse me, I asked you a question. It is considered rude not to answer." Patience was wearing thin on the young girl, as a glint of red began to tint her cheeks. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" the cat girl finally shouted, her hands clenched in fists at her sides and tail sticking straight up.

"Yes," Hitomi replied lazily, not caring if the cat girl knew she was a woman or not. Sighing at the surprised look on the hybrid's face, Hitomi let her arms fall to their sides, with her sword on her right. "But _I_ wouldn't be the one who is considered rude, seeing as though _you_ burst into _my_ room and then presume to bombard me with questions." Seeing a cross look pass the cat girl's face, Hitomi threw her sword on her bed and sat down beside it, crossing her legs. "Now, if I know any manners, quite a significant one is to introduce one's self before having a proper conversation. If I may inquire?" Hitomi said mockingly to the hybrid.

Watching carefully as the girl in front of her, closed her eyes, Hitomi could imagine the cat girl counting silently to ten in her head in order to control her anger. After some time, the girl's frame slightly relaxed, her tail twitching less frequently and she opened both her eyes slowly. Now that the two purple orbs were open, Hitomi could see the anger welled up in the cat's being, "The name is Merle," she grinded through her teeth. Again the cat girl's demeanour changed back to what it was before; her tail puffed up and twitched quickly from side to side, "and now for my questions?"

"Ah, right, your questions," Hitomi replied groggily. She was thoroughly enjoying aggravating the girl and watched amusedly at all of the frustrated faces the cat girl gave off. "But that would be rude of me."

"What do you mean it would be rude of you? To answer my questions?" Merle asked, her expression changing from rage to one of disbelief as her arms fell limp at her sides.

"No, no, not that," Hitomi said while yawning and purposely blocking it with her hand, "I mean, you don't even know my name yet." Laughing silently at the enraged look she was given, Hitomi continued to bug the girl. "It is Hitomi by the way."

Pushing a stray of pink hair out of her eyes, Merle asked, "Alright Hitomi, can you _please_ answer my questions? Now?"

"Hmmm, sorry forgot. What were they again?" Hitomi asked slyly, stretching her arms and legs out as she tried to get a kink out of her back. Hearing the satisfying crack, Hitomi slouched back down, her elbows resting on her knees and her chin resting on her knuckles.

Going back into a huff at the show of disinterest, Merle repeated, "What are you doing in Lord Van's castle?"

Smiling under her cloak, Hitomi knew it wasn't right to be teasing someone on purpose whom she just met, but she couldn't help it; it was too temping. "I was given permission to stay."

Waiting a few seconds for more of a reply, Merle's eyes narrowed as she asked again. "Yes, I know that, but what exactly are the reasons for you staying here? There are plenty of inns down in the village."

Playing with the hem of her cloak-sleeve, Hitomi replied, "Your Lord Van offered." Smirking slightly at the enraged look that had completely taken over Merle's face, Hitomi winced at the yelling she knew she would have to endure.

Merle's eyes were positively glowing with infuriation, the purple colour shining significantly, "I know you were given permission to stay in the castle! All I want to know is how you got your permission?" Slowly the cat girl walked closer to the still relaxed Hitomi, "For what account?"

Lifting up slowly from the bed, Hitomi was careful not to let Merle see her face, and with a tone of disgust she answered, "I saved your precious prince's pathetic life." She knew that insulting him would not be wise, but Hitomi Kanzaki would not sit by and let someone try to control her; a scowl had crossed her face at the memory of the pigheaded man.

"Pathetic life?" Merle asked in disbelief. "How dare you say such a thing about Lord Van!" But before anything else could leave the pink haired girl's mouth a loud explosion was heard to the right of Hitomi's room.

"What was that?" Hitomi said while grabbing her sword and standing up. But before either girl could make it to the window to find out, a massive vibration shook both of them and rendered them to the ground. "That was a shock wave. Damn, it must have been a huge-ass explosion to make that much movement." Hitomi commented remembering her studies in high school.

"An explosion?" Merle whimpered, as she stood and stuck her head out the window. A gasp reached Hitomi's ears as Merle's eyes widened in surprise and her tail fell limp, "Fanelia's being attacked! I have to warn Lord Van." Quickly, before Hitomi could catch her, Merle ran past Hitomi and out the door.

"An attack?" Hitomi wondered, 'Better get out of here quick. I wouldn't want to be stuck in here while the castle burnt down.' Feeling another explosion, Hitomi wobbly steadied herself on one of the bedpost and began to get ready. Putting on her shoes from under the bed and swinging her bag over her shoulder, Hitomi thought to herself, 'Why is Merle running off to inform that prince? It's not like he wouldn't hear the noise anyways.' She then ran over to the mirror to quickly check that her appearance was hidden by the cloak and then with sword in hand, ran out of her room.

Turning right down the hall, Hitomi kept her head down low as she ran, so as not to blow the hood off her head; it was not only difficult to run with a sword in hand, but a bag hanging off her shoulder as well. While racing past the tapestries, Hitomi passed many soldiers running in the opposite direction: ordered to protect Fanelia. Running by these men Hitomi picked up on some of the words being spoken between them: "The North Castle was attacked by an unknown enemy!" "They have destroyed half of the castle already!" "Quick we have to hurry, they are rumoured to be invisible!"

'An invisible enemy?' Hitomi thought to herself, still running the opposite way, 'How can it be an invisible enemy? Even on Earth we don't have the kind of technology.' But before she could explore the thought any further, a shout alerted her of Jeffery Blue, one of the prince's advisors.

"It's you. It's all your fault! Nothing would have happened to Fanelia if it wasn't for you!" After yelling loudly he grabbed a large soldier by the arm, whom was just happening to be passing by, and then said, "Stop, you have to help destroy this bastard! It is all this stupid shit's fault Fanelia was attacked."

Looking towards the cloaked figure, the soldier that was grabbed replied by saying, "What do you mean? Is he a spy?" His brown eyes glared at Hitomi as he said this, and he sunk down into a battle stance, ready to fight his opponent.

"That thing is a demon, and cursed Fanelia. Just pull back its hood and you will see what I mean," the advisor raged on crazily, letting the soldier step forward as he stepped back.

A loud boom alerted the three of another attack on the castle as the walls around them began to tremble. They were still in the hallway, but the stones seemed less steady every time the castle shook. Stopping to keep their footing, two passing soldiers looked towards the group to see what the trouble was. Recognizing the large soldier, the taller of the two interrogated the situation, "Hey Gouzu, what is the matter here? We are supposed to be at the North end of the Castle, order from Lord Balgus." The one who had just spoken, then noticed that Gouzu, the big burly soldier, was readying himself against Hitomi, "What are you doing wasting your time on this squirt?"

"Supposedly he is a threat to Fanelia. Lord Blue has ordered me to deal with him," Gouzu spoke deeply and clearly, never letting his eyes leave the cloaked figure standing in front.

"Hmm…" The one who had just spoken looked towards his shorter partner, silently asking the other if they should carry on or not. Earning a nod from his brunette comrade, the taller soldier replied to Gouzu. "Alright then, we'll help you defeat this one; the more to fight, the faster the duel.' Walking up to where their comrade was, the two soldiers joined their friend in lowering their stances, and sword ready. Gouzu, the largest of the three waved his sword threateningly at Hitomi, "Aren't you going to prepare for us demon? Or are you gonna let us spear you?"

Seeing the seriousness of the situation Hitomi stood still as she watched the soldiers ready themselves against her and silently cursed herself for the bad luck. 'Why did I have to run into that stupid advisor again?' Dropping her bag to the ground, Hitomi removed the sword from its sheath and held both sheath and sword in her hands: one for a weapon and the other as a shield. Before following in a battle stance Hitomi was shaken with a deep tremble in the ground; it seemed that there were more attacks being made on the castle. Regaining her footing, Hitomi sunk low to the ground and held her sword outwards attentively in her right hand. She was ready to defend herself if needed, as she held the sheath above and behind her head in a defensive manner.

Gouzu began to laugh at the situation, "Come on man, you are barely half the size of me and you are still going to fight all three of us? I was surprised you even managed to stay standing after that little shake. What an idiot!"

Laughing mockingly, the smallest soldier with brown hair took a threatening step towards Hitomi. Trying to upset Hitomi he humorously said, "I can take you on by myself. Come and play little freak."

Standing her ground, Hitomi kept her stance steady and waited for the attack that she knew would occur. The other two soldiers looked at their smaller acquaintance and smirked amusingly, "Can't say I didn't warn you," the smaller soldier said before raising his sword and charging towards her.

Lunging backwards at the last minute possible, Hitomi was just able to dodge the swipe aimed for her neck. Instead of connecting with her body, the soldier's sword ended up ricocheting off the stonewall; thus making him immobile for a second and leaving him as an open target. Lowering her face so that the hood would still act as a mask, Hitomi bent down low and quickly moved forwards. Using the handle of her sword to attack instead of the blade, she swiftly pounded it into the man's stomach, thus making him keel over and drop his sword. Then to disable the soldier fully, Hitomi used her foot to kick the kneeling man's head into the floor: knocking him into unconsciousness.

After dealing with the first soldier, Hitomi looked back up at the two others ready to defend herself immediately but to her surprise both were standing in the same spot as before. The largest man just stared at Hitomi with a look of disbelief on his face, while the other glared and then said, "How dare you beat up Kyoku. He may not be the most skilled, but he was still threatening."

Allowing time for his slow brain to think on what his comrade had said, a smile spread across the buff soldier's face, "Yeah, but I on the other hand can take you down easily?"

Still glaring at the girl, the smaller soldier asked his advisor some advice, "Lord Blue, what were you saying about taking off this demon's hood? Does he have an advantage against us?"

"No, nothing of that sort, just take off the hood and you will understand," the cowering man said, hiding behind the two remaining soldiers. He was shaking like a leaf and sweat was beading on his forehead. "Now hurry and beat it!"

"Yes, sir! Wanna go at this one together Buri?" the largest soldier asked the other remaining soldier to his right. "We can easily take this thing out if we both go at it at the same time."

"Sounds like a plan, I'll take the back end," the other soldier said collectively, advancing forward slowly towards Hitomi.

'Shit, shit, shit!' Hitomi thought to herself at the advancing two, 'I could take out one without showing my identity but I can hardly do that with two more apt soldiers. Damn it!' Walking backwards from where the first soldier lay, Hitomi threw her sheath to the side deciding on using more of an aggressive tactic. 'I won't be able to defeat them both by just defending myself, I must attack.'

"What? Are you backing out? Are you afraid?" the larger of the two soldiers teased, coming closer to Hitomi. But then without warning Hitomi charged forward at the smaller man and raised her sword to perform a downwards swipe upon him. It made the situation even more unexpected when the ground beneath the group began to shake leaving everyone but Hitomi shaken. The attack on the blond soldier caused him to back up out of the way of the sword, and at the same time away from his partner. Now defending on his own against the cloaked figure, the brown haired man looked up after the attack.

Unfortunately while charging forward, the wind had blown the hood back on Hitomi's cloak enabling the soldier to glimpse her appearance. "A-a woman?" the smaller soldier said barely managing to deflect another one of her swipes. "You-you can't be..." he whispered as he continued to stare at Hitomi.

'Well it opened his defences up at least,' Hitomi thought optimistically. This time Hitomi wound up her arm behind her head, and using the handle of her sword once again, smacked the man with all her might against the side of his face. Collapsing to the ground in an instant, the brown soldier blacked out and fell as he rolled on his back after the assault.

Swiftly turning around to face her other opponent Hitomi saw that he was charging at her, but upon seeing Hitomi's features, the large man stopped. Backing up so that he was out of Hitomi's sword's range the soldier commented on what he saw, "Hmm, I see what you mean Lord Blue, a demon indeed. Just look at the hair. Where the hell did this thing come from? Although she is a pretty thing..." Looking Hitomi up and down before gripping his sword tighter, Gouzu licked his lips in a perverted manner before charging towards Hitomi.

Standing her ground bravely, Hitomi met blades with the giant soldier and upon impact was completely thrown back from the shear force that the larger soldier applied on her sword. Laughing at the girl now lying on her back the soldier took a couple steps closer to the girl, "That is where you belong demon; on your back." Laughing at his joke alone, seeing as though the advisor still sat trembling at the sidelines, Gouzu continued on, "You may be swift, but you are still weak."

Coming for her again, Hitomi had to quickly roll to the left side and jumped up, to dodge a sword aimed directly for her head. Re-adjusting her stance and circling her opponent, Hitomi thought, 'Well meeting him one-on-one in a match wasn't the smartest thing I have done. He is much stronger than me so my speed is what is going to have to out match him.' Spreading her legs apart upon feeling the slight vibration once again, Hitomi kept her balance as a fourth attack was spent out on the castle. Watching as the man in front of her wobbled at the impact Hitomi took in a deep breath and sped towards the man known as Gouzu.

"So now you want to play rough?" Smirking at the girl running towards him, Gouzu raised his sword in the air ready to deflect any blow aimed at him. But instead of meeting him on, Hitomi raced to his right and struck her blade deep into the side of his abdomen.

Turning her head so that she made eye contact with the injured man, Hitomi's face continued to stay emotionless as she removed her sword with a grunt. Looking at the girl with a face full of surprise, Gouzu let his gloved hand fall to his side where Hitomi had plunged him. "Y-you beat me," the man stuttered, falling to his knees and dropping his sword. Gripping his wound, the man continued to look at Hitomi with a mix of surprise and slight admiration. Slowly his body began to shiver as Gouzu fell sideways onto the ground and lay alive in that spot for only a second more.

Still gazing at the man, Hitomi's being began to fill with a feeling of guilt and personal disgust, 'he may have been an ass, but I didn't have to kill him.' Wiping the blood off her sword on the man's shirt, the clean blade almost reassured Hitomi that she had done nothing wrong, when suddenly the advisor grabbed her attention again.

He seemed to have clumsily tripped over a stone on his way to a retreat. A small shriek erupted form Lord Blue's mouth before he ran down the opposite end of the hallway, crying for help as he went, "Help, help! A demon, hurry kill it before it kills me!"

Cursing under her breath, Hitomi covered herself up once again, and ran over to find her sheath that she had flung off at the beginning of the fight. Finding it and placing her sword once again at her side, the girl then grabbed her bag and ran off trying to find a way out of the castle. 'If no one can find me, then no one can blame me,' she thought staying low so as not to inhale any smoke.

Running deeper into the castle Hitomi cursed herself again when she realized she was lost and she couldn't remember the way she had entered. "How the hell do you find the damn exit?" she cried in frustrated. The smoke was becoming thicker and the crackling of fire was creeping up on her heels; if she didn't find a way out quickly she was going to be in trouble.

Then a couple of doors down from where Hitomi stood a strange mechanical groaning met with her ears, 'maybe there is a way out there.' So quickly and silently walking towards the door in question, Hitomi took a peek through the crack in the un-latched door and was surprised at what she saw. 'The prince? I ain't going in there even if there is a way out,' she thought, but suddenly before she could rant in side her head anymore, a large metal being dropped from the ceiling of the room. "What the hell?" Hitomi stammered out without thinking.

Immediately the prince's head turned in her direction and a scowl lit his face. Before he could say anything, Hitomi had raced away from the door and was sprinting down the hallway she had been on before. 'Shit, shit, shit. He saw me for sure, now what will I do if he catches me. He can call all his men on me to kill me.' Looking at the smoke above her, Hitomi saw that the smoke was leading out to a door on her left. 'Maybe there is a way out there.'

Carefully going into the room she sighed in frustration, 'Great, I come into a room where everything is on fire.' But after a quick scan of the smoke, Hitomi realized that it was moving out of a closet's door way. Making a rash decision she moved through that door and was relieved to see that the outside closet wall had collapsed, leaving a big enough hole for her to climb out of.

Cautious, so as to make sure her cloak didn't catch fire, Hitomi jumped through the hole and stealthily made her way down past the wreckage. 'Damn why couldn't the stones fall off the wall in perfect steps? Then I might be able to climb away from the castle with out falling on my ass,' she grated in her head. Once down from the stone wreckage, Hitomi took a deep breathe of clean air and puffed out her chest. 'Wow that definitely beats death from smoke,' she thought to herself before getting ready to run off in search of a safe place that wasn't under siege.

Then suddenly she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as an image entered her head. Turning around, hoping that no one was watching her, Hitomi raised her head, hood falling to her shoulders, and looked into the face of her viewer, "Oh fuck…"

**Aurum, Macky, Magicman/Smokegirl, Sush, Nina, Anthius, Sorcerer or Darkness, Kya77, Frostmourne, Archangel Rhapsody, Anthius Archangel, Reminiscence and ****Mizery Rizes****: Thank you so much for all your reviews, but I don't have enough time to separately review you all because I have no time… unless you wanted the chapter up next week! :P But I would first like to say, THANK YOU, THANK YOU ALL! And MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL! I think I am planning on writing a little short quick Christmas Escaflowne fic, but I don't know. I would like to thank you all again and keep up reviewing cause I love it!**

**Lady Snow Blood: No, Hitomi's real mother isn't still alive, but you will find out more in the future chapters. All you have to do is stay tooned! Please?**

**Feathers of Snow: Honeypot: Wow! I feel so… so amazed that you would want to read my story so much. But I can say thank you, thank you lots and lots! No, the flashbacks weren't there in the beginning chapters but I wanted to make some of the things different. Got to make this edition more interesting! Thanks for reviewing.**

**Joshua Glass: Yes, yes I will have some Folken in the story, just keep reading and he will come! (don't' be perverted about that comment, please!)**

**Dolt: All I have to say about you is that you suck. Way to be a supporting person for my stories. You didn't even read this chapter first because you were too stuck up about doing your homework. Jesus!**

**Eio: Whoa! The snoopy dance!**

**BlackHeart18: Yeah I love the green eyes, and coincidentally I have green eyes. I LOVE GREEN EYES! I am lucky yes I am! Thank for the review!**

**Viole's-Dragon: Wow! Thank you for the review! No problem about the computer, the chapter was up long enough cause I had lots of work to do… ha ha ha! Anywho, thank you for showering me in compliments, I love em'! Yes the Gaean language is different from Earth's, but I am going to play with it. I think I am making the Ancient Ziabachian language the one that Hitomi knows, and regular Japanese the uniform language of Gaea. I dunno, thanks for the compliments though. bows**

**THANK YOU FOR WAITING! AND PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Koriina, - meow!**


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